Prologue
The hero of this story is an outsider to the people of the community, as all heroes are. It's practically a requirement. There's always something mystical about a stranger (or an orphan) who for reasons that are never, ever explained settles in the midst of his hosts. He has no ties to anyone we know, so absolutely anything can happen and the only one affected will be him.
But people like a good yarn, and by nature and love of cosmic ornamentation insist on knitting more strands with the one pure strand of truth until you have a warm blanket to curl up under on cold nights. And all from that the very first row made from the true strand, unto which all the other strands have been added.
By the time anything happens, it's been awhile and people are just becoming accustomed to his presence….
Preview of Chapter 1:
And on that very same path, Kenshin the orphan rode into the village behind Niitsu Kakunoshin, the thirteenth Seijurou Hiko, the potter. (He insisted that was his trade, but his master had been a very odd fellow and had singled him out for special arms training. With what we knew of the twelfth one, it's no wonder his apprentice turned to heavy drinking once his mentor passed on.)